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Gov. Justice on homeschool oversight: 'I don't know if the support's there. I really don't.' And Babydog has apparently been immortalized at the state Capitol?

The West Virginia Weakly Reader for Saturday, June 22, 2024

Giles Snyder

Jun 22, 2024

My fellow journalists will probably curse me for jinxing them if the weekend gets busy, but I’m just going to say it — it seemed like a “slow” news week in West Virginia.

I know.

I shouldn’t have said it.

One simply does not say “slow” when it comes to news.

Try saying that word in a newsroom. At the least, you’ll get a side-eye warning. Most of the time you’ll be admonished by those within earshot with an immediate, “DON’T SAY THAT!”

Journalists generally aren’t superstitious. We spend our days dealing in facts, after all. But the ban on saying “slow” in a newsroom is one of the unwritten rules of journalism and I’ve just broken it, likely bringing the news gods down on all of our heads.

It’s like Fight Club. The first rule of Fight Club is: you don’t talk about Fight Club!

The pace of the news week likely had something to do with Juneteenth followed by West Virginia Day celebrations. Back-to-back holidays combined with the heat wave that’s been making West Virginia drip with sweat probably had the usual suspects taking a break from serious news-making. I didn’t even get a press release this week from Attorney General and Republican nominee for Governor Patrick Morrisey until Friday afternoon— and that’s saying something. He named a new Solicitor General to succeed Lindsey See following See’s confirmation by the U.S. Senate to be a commissioner of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.1

Anyway, temperatures in the 90s and heat index values topping 100 are making me somewhat cranky and more willing to throw caution to the wind.

SLOW!

The West Virginia Weakly Reader

🏠 Quote of the week: "I truly believe that from what we have just seen, there's some level of oversight in regard to homeschooling that is needed.” ~ Governor Jim Justice responding to a question about oversight for families that home school following the death Kyneddi Miller, the 14-year-old girl who was found in a “skeletal state” at her home in Boone County in April. But Justice went on to say that he’s not sure enough of his fellow Republicans in the West Virginia Legislature agree. He said, “I don’t know if the support’s there. I really don’t.”2

😲 Add more than a dozen permitting violations to the problems faced by companies operated by the Justice family. The Charleston Gazette-Mail reported this week that the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection has issued 14 cessation orders and notices of violations since February, when the operation in question, Roanoke-based Bluestone Coal Corp., said it would seek to renew its permit for a 579-acre surface mine in Wyoming and McDowell Counties. The area is drained by the Upper Guyandotte River, where environmentalists are concerned about the Guyandotte River crayfish, designated an endangered species in 2022.3 Justice in the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Sen. Joe Manchin.

👋 Gov. Justice’s Democratic rival this November, Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott, bid city council farewell this week. Elliott, Vice Mayor Chad Thalman and Council Member Rosemary Ketchum participated in their final council meeting Tuesday night. Elliott delivered his final Mayor’s Report in an emotional speech. Four years ago, Ketchum became the first transgender candidate to win an election for public office in West Virginia.4

🗳️ The betting odds started leaning toward a “no” this week to a potential independent run for governor by Sen. Manchin. His name appears at the top of an invitation to a fundraiser next week for Democratic nominee and Huntington Mayor Steve Williams. And state party chair Delegate Mike Pushkin (D-Kanawha) says he’s received assurances that Manchin will support Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott’s bid for his Senate seat. Independents must meet an August first deadline to run in the November election.5

📢 Need a job? The state Republican Party is looking replace Jonathan Board on the November ballot for the state Senate seat that represents portions of Monongalia and Marion Counties. Board was on last month’s primary ballot but he has since taken on the executive director’s gig overseeing the West Virginia First Foundation, the panel charged with allocating 1$ billion dollars in opioid settlement money.6

🌈 Huntington police have caught up with the driver of the pickup truck caught on video peeling out last week on the rainbow crosswalk painted by Huntington Pride. The city issued a statement on Monday, saying the 21-year-old has been cited by police.7

🏫 Getting out of Dodge — Ryan Saxe is trading one set of controversies for another. Saxe has resigned from his job as the superintendent of Cabell County Schools to move across the state to Berkeley County.8 He’s succeeding Ronald Stephens as the schools chief after the Berkeley County Board of Education declined to renew Stephens’ contract after coming under fire for conditions at North Middle School, which was put under a state of emergency in May by the state school board. Saxe is leaving Cabell County after supporting a failed excess levy that dramatically cut funding for libraries and parks. Funding supporters are working to get a revised levy on the ballot in November. Saxe was named the West Virginia Superintendent of the Year amid the controversy.9

⚖️ One of the inmates linked to the killing of the notorious Boston mob boss Whitey Bulger pleaded guilty Monday to a charge of lying to federal agents. The plea was part of a deal Sean McKinnon entered into with prosecutors — who say he acted as the lookout for two other inmates who beat Bulger to death shortly after he arrived at the federal penitentiary in Hazelton, West Virginia in 2018. The presiding judge gave McKinnon credit for serving 22 months in custody following his indictment and will serve no additional time. The two other inmates are to be sentenced later this summer.10

🏀 There’s always a West Virginia connection — In case you missed West Virginia’s link to the NBA Finals, Joe Mazzulla is the head coach of this season’s title winner, the Boston Celtics. Mazzulla is a former West Virginia University point guard who helped WVU’s basketball team reach the NCAA tournament’s Final Four in 2010. Now in his second season as the Celtic’s head coach, he led Boston to a record 18th NBA title this week.11

🏀 Jerry West’s family members says they will honor the late basketball legend’s wishes. The family issued a statement through the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday, saying there will be no public memorial and that they will mourn his passing privately. The family said West can be honored through donations to four separate funds set up at West Virginia University. West died last week at age 86.12

📽️ For the Juneteenth holiday, the publication Black by God, The West Virginian shared footage that was cut from King Coal, the documentary by the Oscar-nominated filmmaker Elaine McMillion Sheldon. BBG shared a roughly 20 minute clip that offers insight into the Black coalfield experience.13

🎂 On West Virginia’s 161st birthday, a ceremony was held at the Capitol Thursday to officially unveil four new murals installed in the rotunda. They feature scenes from state history and depict the state’s natural beauty.14 And also … Babydog? Gov. Justice’s sidekick seems to have been included in one of them.15 The state’s birthday cake was cut at the Culture Center and a recipe from my mom’s hometown of Grantsville in Calhoun County won the best hot dog sauce contest. Winner Paige Toney told the Charleston Gazette-Mail, “When you taste it, it’s home.” At West Virginia Independence Hall in Wheeling, a statue of West Virginia’s first governor, Arthur I. Boreman, was unveiled. Designed by Morgantown sculptor Jamie Lester, it stands about 8 feet tall and weighs about 2,000 pounds.16 In his remarks, Gov. Justice noted its size, saying “It’s bigger than me. That is going to be a governor bigger than me.” Justice also remarked on the heat, asking those seated in front him, “How are you people still breathing?” He arrived 45 minutes late for the ceremony.

🎻 Favorite daughter Kathy Mattea celebrated a birthday this week. Mattea was born on June 21st, 1959 in Kanawha County. Mattea has been a Nashville music star since the 1980s. She is now hosting West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Mountain Stage, succeeding longtime and original host Larry Groce in 2021.17

🇺🇸 Flags are flying at half-staff today at the Capitol Complex in Charleston and at state-owned facilities in Kanawha County in honor of Judge Herman Canady, Jr.18 Canady died last week at age 87. The Charleston Gazette-Mail called him a trailblazer for Black attorneys in West Virginia.19

Everyone’s got one — a roundup of opinion from around West Virginia